The number of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Mississippi continues to slowly inch down, the state reported Wednesday.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Wednesday that 719 new coronavirus cases were found in the last 24 hours.

The additional cases reported Wednesday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 496,851, meaning that more than 16 percent of all Mississippians have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.

Statistics indicate that approximately 1 in every 301 Mississippians has died from the virus.

MSDH reported 26 new deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 9,900.

Mississippi health leaders have said that a combination of a low overall vaccination rate among Mississippians along with a rapidly spreading Delta variant is causing the recent surge in cases.

Through Wednesday, 45 percent of the total Mississippi population has been fully vaccinated. The number of fully vaccinated Mississippians has grown rapidly over the last several weeks but remains below the U.S. average of 56 percent.

For more detailed county-by-county vaccination results visit: https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/12130.pdf

The 7-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 613 on Wednesday. The last time the weekly average was lower was July 19.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 683 with Wednesday’s update.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County

Totals of all reported COVID-19 cases, including those in long-term care (LTC) facilities.

The numbers in this table are provisional. County case and deaths totals may change as investigation finds new or additional information.

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	4567	119	88	18
Alcorn	5623	100	130	20
Amite	2033	54	57	9
Attala	3299	89	187	36
Benton	1470	38	47	10
Bolivar	6259	145	239	33
Calhoun	2771	45	44	7
Carroll	1670	38	52	11
Chickasaw	2959	67	61	15
Choctaw	1329	26	12	0
Claiborne	1305	37	46	9
Clarke	2895	94	133	32
Clay	3054	75	41	5
Coahoma	4110	104	138	13
Copiah	4444	91	104	14
Covington	4266	94	142	39
De Soto	31773	397	124	26
Forrest	13398	251	283	60
Franklin	1189	28	41	5
George	4899	79	69	9
Greene	2148	48	57	6
Grenada	3680	108	156	32
Hancock	7685	126	72	15
Harrison	34022	530	531	77
Hinds	31778	621	852	139
Holmes	2662	87	109	20
Humphreys	1287	38	35	9
Issaquena	193	7	0	0
Itawamba	4584	104	135	24
Jackson	24289	377	284	41
Jasper	3276	65	46	2
Jefferson	943	34	41	7
Jefferson Davis	1706	42	9	1
Jones	13759	241	236	43
Kemper	1412	41	50	10
Lafayette	8443	137	199	56
Lamar	10452	135	56	12
Lauderdale	11933	314	481	107
Lawrence	2110	39	27	2
Leake	4072	87	99	17
Lee	15398	233	225	43
Leflore	4621	142	240	55
Lincoln	5412	134	205	40
Lowndes	10873	184	280	64
Madison	14507	278	416	72
Marion	4205	106	162	24
Marshall	6365	132	69	17
Monroe	6702	173	191	55
Montgomery	1788	56	64	10
Neshoba	6604	204	228	60
Newton	3808	79	87	15
Noxubee	1848	40	41	6
Oktibbeha	7107	128	270	39
Panola	6455	130	103	15
Pearl River	9410	237	210	42
Perry	2043	54	24	9
Pike	5749	152	173	43
Pontotoc	6596	101	86	13
Prentiss	4640	81	101	15
Quitman	1057	27	0	0
Rankin	21834	387	492	68
Scott	4703	98	116	19
Sharkey	639	20	45	8
Simpson	4413	116	160	20
Smith	2622	50	72	8
Stone	3578	64	87	14
Sunflower	4214	104	124	20
Tallahatchie	2250	51	50	7
Tate	4534	108	80	19
Tippah	4646	81	120	14
Tishomingo	3554	91	103	28
Tunica	1584	39	19	3
Union	5937	94	132	23
Walthall	2174	63	69	14
Warren	6632	175	173	38
Washington	7353	156	203	41
Wayne	4381	72	80	13
Webster	2015	45	67	14
Wilkinson	1037	39	25	6
Winston	3126	91	131	39
Yalobusha	2323	47	82	22
Yazoo	4367	86	151	20
Total	496,851	9,900	11,269	2,086